1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image reproducing apparatus and a method of updating a channel map. More specifically, the invention relates to an image reproducing apparatus for channel map updating and a method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since television (TV) signals first started to be transmitted, apparatuses for receiving these TV signals called TVs have spread more quickly than any other conventional medium, and vast amounts of broadcast content have been produced.
In addition, the role of TV in contributing to the transfer of knowledge and information sharing cannot be overlooked by any means. However, producing and transmitting broadcast programs was accompanied by a certain investment in facilities and money, and customers' diverse demands could not be satisfied due to limitations in such investments.
In an effort to meet these demands, when early stage cable television broadcast stations providing differentiated programs were founded with less investment than that of conventional airwave broadcast stations, an additional device called a set-top box (STB) was required to watch cable TV programs, in addition to an antenna for watching conventional TV programs.
The set-top boxes classified as first generation allow watching diverse cable TV channels, while playing only the passive roles of receiving and relaying broadcast signals uni-directionally. Contrarily, the set-top boxes classified as second generation not only perform the functions of receiving and relaying broadcast signals, but also have their own functions like those of other appliances, thereby providing diverse functions and additional services. A digital set-top box, i.e. a specialized computer actually sending and receiving data through the Internet, contains a web browser and communication protocols such as TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol).
A cable-card is a core element of OpenCable that has been standardized as a technical specification of cable TV, i.e. a semiconductor chip having subscriber information being mounted on a digital TV set-top box. A cable-card is not a conventional integrated product, but a device separate from a set-top box.
On the other hand, according to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations that have recently come into effect, all cable broadcasting companies in the United States must provide digital cable subscribers with cable-cards from now on. If such a cable-card is installed, digital devices such as a digital TV, a video tape recorder, and/or a computer can be directly connected to the cable without additionally purchasing or renting a digital set-top box.
If a cable-card is inserted into a digital TV where such a cable-card can be attached and detached, a certain module inside the TV communicates bi-directionally with the inserted cable-card, and judges whether the digital TV supports OpenCable, which allows compatibility between the cable-card and the digital TV.
Digital TV's supporting OpenCable or the Open Common Application Platform (OCAP) has been developed and are currently on the market. A digital TV supporting OpenCable must be mounted with a cable-card and use a channel map provided by a head-end.
In the case of a TV that supports OpenCable, even though a user may move from one region to another while subscribing to cable TV, that user does not need to purchase a new device, but need only apply for corresponding cable TV in the new region.
The system information for configuring such a channel map comes from a head-end in the Out-of-Band (OOB) bandwidth, with the cable-card assigning a corresponding frequency within that OOB bandwidth. The contents of the system information for receiving the channel map received in the OOB bandwidth differs by region and head-end.
In the case of digital TV, when a cable-card is inserted, the inserted cable-card's manufacturer number is read. If the read manufacturer number is different from the manufacturer number previously stored, it is recognized that another cable-card has been inserted, and the channel map is deleted. If a cable-card from the same company is used in another region, channels can only be received when the channel map is manually deleted and received again.
Furthermore, in a method of inserting a smart card into a cable-card module such as the SCM cable-card, even in a case where only the smart card is replaced, a user must delete the channel map manually.